Pirates fight off Bulldogs to improve to 8-0

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GOODY, Ky. –Lawrence County and Belfry have long been regional rivals. However the past few years the Pirates have dominated the Bulldogs and Friday night was no exception.

The Pirates (8-0) fought of the visiting Bulldogs 35-12 at Cam Stadium on the season’s first cool night.

The Bulldogs came in with a 6-2 record, while Belfry was ranked No. 1 in Class 3A and came into the contest undefeated at 7-0.

The Pirate fans also paid tribute to the 2003 BHS team that won the first state championship in school history 10 years ago. Several members of that team were introduced at halftime.

After winning the coin toss, Belfry deferred and Lawrence Count y took the opening kickoff. On the first play from scrimmage, the Bulldogs had a good gain for a first down.

But on the very next play, Lawrence County fumbled and Belfry’s Hayden Hatfield recovered for the Pirates.

Belfry took advantage of the turnover scoring six plays later as senior quarterback Sani Warren connected with senior split end Cody Bostic on a TD pass. Freshman Austin Woolum continued his great kicking with the point after and BHS led 7-0 with 8:10 left in the first quarter.

The Bulldogs were able to move the football deep into Belfry territory, but the Pirates made a strong defensive stand taking the ball over on downs at the 14 yard line to end the first quarter.

Then the Pirates used their patented running attack with seniors Davontae Dari and Trenity Carr and junior Austin Hatfield gaining big chunks of yardage. Then on the 7th play of the drive Carr scored from seven yards out. Woolum’s kick made it 14-0 with 9:30 left in the first half.

Lawrence County cut into the lead as Ricky Goble scored from one yard out with 7:01 left in the second quarter. Bulldog quarterback A. J. Cyrus hooked up with Tim Dalton on a long pass to move the ball to the four yard line.

The conversion kick was blocked and Belfry led 14-6. That’s where the score stood at the half.

Belfry had time to score one more time, however Warren fumbled the pigskin and it was recovered by the Bulldog’s Dalton. However, Warren quickly redeemed himself with an interception at the 15 yard line to give his team the football back.

Dari, who was starting in place of the injured Justin Johnson, rushed for 59 first half yards, while Carr had 37, Hatfield 31 and Warren 32.

Belfry received the kickoff to start the second half. They quickly moved the ball deep into the red zone on nice runs by Dari and Hatfield. What appeared to be another Pirate fumble caused a long argument by Bulldog head coach Joey Cecil.

The official apparently had whistled the ball down and Belfry retained possession. After about a five minute long discussion between the Bulldog coaches with the officials, the Pirates kept the football.

Then on the very next play Dari hit pay-dirt from seven yards away. Woolum’s kick made it 21-6 with 10:33 left in the third quarter.

After another good defensive stop, Belfry got the ball back after only six offensive plays by the visitors. The Pirates took over on their own 38 yard line. A 7-play drive ended up with another TD run by Carr from four yards out. Woolum’s boot through the uprights made it 28-6 with 3:58 left in the third quarter.

On Lawrence County’s next offensive possession, Warren picked off his second pass of the night at the 18 yard line to halt another Bulldog drive.

The minutes ticked off rather quickly in the final quarter. Lawrence County got one more score as Cyrus got into the end zone from five yards out. The conversion run was stuffed by the Pirate defense and Belfry led 28-12.

Belfry hit pay-dirt one more time as Carr scored another TD, his third of the night, from 15 yards away with 2:32 left in the game. Woolum’s kick gave Belfry the final lead of 35-12 and they trotted off Haywood Field with the sweet victory.

Dari passed the century mark again for the second straight game as he rushed for 118 yards on only eight carries. Hatfield rushed for 138 yards on 10 carries, Carr had 86 yards on 12 attempts and Warren 47 yards on eight carries. Keaton Taylor also had two rushes for 19 yards and caught a couple of passes for 20 yards.

Belfry rushed for 403 yards and picked up 23 first downs.

Warren was 4-of-5 passing and one TD.

Defensively Belfry was led by Hayden Hatfield with 14 tackles, Joey Duty was next with 11,

Dakota Stanley and Austin Hall each had eight stops.

Lawrence County had 355 yards of offense, 265 on the ground and 90 in the passing department.

Cyrus rushed for 59 yards on 15 carries for the Bulldogs, while Goble had 71 yards on 15 carries. Cyrus threw for 71 yards and two interceptions.

Belfry will travel to Pike County Central this Friday with what will be the regular season District Championship.

Pike County Central heads into the rivalry game with a record of 5-3. They defeated Sheldon Clark 47 – 7 this past weekend and have won their last two games.

Score by quarters:

Lawrence Co. (6-3) …0 6 0 6 -12

Belfry (8-0) … 7 7 14 7 - 35

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